Discount theatre tickets

Posted on 26 April 2011

Discount theatre tickets are quite easy to find but it certainly helps to know where to look! The best place to start looking for theatre deals, offers and discount theatre tickets is online. The internet has changed the game for ticketing – allowing everyone to get cheaper theatre tickets without being in the know.

A quick search on Google will normally bring up a lot of results when searching for theatre tickets. But be careful as you should only ever buy tickets from official theatre ticket agents, specifically those who are members of S.T.A.R., the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, a body recognised by Westminster
Council, the Office of Fair Trading and the Society of London Theatre among others. Make sure you check that the website is also secure, using the latest SSL secure technologies. If you’re not sure, be sure to ask.

So, a hunt around the search engines can often bring up some treasure, some official agents such as londontheatredirect.com, lastminute.com and Ticketmaster regularly run ticket offers and you can often subscribe to their theatre newsletters to get the latest ticket deals sent through to you by e-mail as soon as they are announced. Some of these can reduce ticket prices from over £50 to just £10 and often with no booking fees!

Another option is to visit the TKTS booth on Leicester Square. This booth is run by the Society of London theatre and often has discount tickets available on the day of the show you want to go and see. Whilst this can be great if you want to take a chance, it’s better to book in advance if you want to make sure you get tickets for the show you want to see and avoid disappointment.

Of course, you can buy tickets from any theatre box office in London, but it’s rare to get any discounts directly from the box offices, as normally they charge full price or full face value ticket price. Some box offices have started to charge booking fees and often now include a theatre restoration fee – a small amount that goes towards repairing and maintaining the theatres for future generations to enjoy.

Some shows that have long running ticket offers include Blood Brothers, Woman In Black and Grease The Musical. Depending on the time of year (Christmas time is busier, so there are less ticket offers available) and day of the week (Monday to Thursday evenings normally have the best ticket deals) then if you book in advance, you can take advantage of some really good theatre ticket promotions.

It’s always a good idea to catch a preview performance, the week or so of performances that take place before the press night or official opening night. These performances are often reduced in price and a good way to catch the show before anyone else! So not only do you benefit from cheaper tickets, but you’re also in the know before your friends!

Quite often a show isn’t quite as successful as the producers had hoped. This might be because of bad reviews, a poor choice of cast or production or general audience disinterest in the production. When a show closes early, the producers try to fill as many seats as possible by offering tickets for sale at reduced rates.
Ticket deals and offers can come in a variety of forms – from 2 for 1 theatre tickets, 50% ticket discounts and any number of promotions which enable you to catch a show at a fraction of the price.

A good idea is to also follow your favourite ticket agency on Facebook or Twitter as occasionally they run ticket offers or announce very last minute deals, a particular bonus for people living in London.
So in summary, the best way to find out about discount theatre tickets is to do some research – find a ticket agent you can trust and make sure you keep up to date with all the available offers, discounts and cheap theatre tickets.